Kenny Aronoff: The Art Of The Deal

By

Andrew Lentz

April 30, 2013 12:25 pm

Kenny Aronoff: The Art Of The Deal

By Andrew Lentz

Originally Published in the June 2011 issue of DRUM! Magazine

Lots of drummers record and play with top-grossing pop acts, but Kenny Aronoff is the session man’s session man — the cat who takes the red-eye to Nashville for a 7 a.m. call time and gets back to Burbank in the afternoon to tape American Idol. To give you an idea how busy he is, Aronoff is scrolling through his Blackberry fielding offers while we have him on the phone. Now that’s a hustler. Anyone wanting to get similarly paid for plying their rhythmic craft is advised to heed the man’s words.

What’s A Contract?

“Most of it’s not fine print. Most of it’s negotiating and you got to be willing to work at all kinds of different levels. A lot of people are like, ‘We can’t afford you anymore.’ I’m saying, ‘Yes, you can‚’ because the whole pay scale has changed. Some drummers at the higher levels are saying, ‘You’re lowering the standard.’ I’m saying, ‘Dude! What world are you living in? The rules have changed. There are no budgets. There’s barely any labels.’ Sure, I respect the standard, but you got to be flexible. There are gray areas and sometimes you might get screwed and sometimes you don’t. But you can’t score goals if you’re not on the field.”

Start High

“For the young kids there’s no rule of thumb. First ask [producers, artists, etc.] what they can afford. And then you ask people at your level, what are they getting? Or you ask someone on the session, ‘What are the other people getting?’ You should just come out and ask, ‘What can you afford to pay me?’ And you’ll have to ask yourself if you’re willing to do it for that. And ask the players what they’re getting per session. It all depends on what instrument they play. You go down the list.”

Working Both Sides

“With the union they’re paying scale now mostly. I used to get double scale and over a certain number of hours I would get triple scale. It’s funny because, before, you used to have to file with the union to get paid at all. But the recording budgets just aren’t there. Producers, studios, they don’t want to use union. A lot of it is private money now where the band is just writing me a check or giving me cash.”

The New Drumming Economy

“I’ve got a drum room now. Most drummers in L.A. have a drum room. It’s kind of like if you want to play ball, you better have one. Yeah, most of them are home studios. Some sessions are just all overdubbing. That’s why I’ve got a drum room — it’s bringing work in.”

Money Vs. Sanity

“Sometimes the money is important. Like the time I flew to Africa for one gig. That’s when I’m asking for certain things. You get there at midnight, next day is sound check and show, and you fly back that night. It kicks your ass. But money isn’t everything. If money was everything then I wouldn’t do things like the [recently telecast] Kennedy Center Honors. I probably shouldn’t have taken it [laughs], but typically I do.”